History HateSink / AceAttorney

* ''VisualNovel/GyakutenKenji2'': While the FinalBoss and the mastermind Sōta Sarushiro/Simon Keyes is [[AntiVillain sympathetic]], the five people who caused his turn to evil are absolutely unlikeable:

** [[EvilChef Yutaka Kazami/Dane Gustavia]] is the culprit of The Inherited Turnabout and another despicable human being. [[AbusiveParent Using his son purely as a taste-tester]], his response to his son being kidnapped was anger at [[ItsAllAboutMe no longer having an advantage in a confectionary competition he was participating in.]] While his murder of Isaac Dover was moderately sympathetic (Dover did kidnap his son and threaten to discredit Gustavia by exposing [[DeafComposer his taste disorder]]), instead of taking responsibility, he abandoned Simon Keyes, his own child (contributing to the boy's turn to evil) and allowed an innocent man to take the blame instead. Eighteen years later, he is almost killed by Katherine Hall in a trap she set up for the true culprit at the victim's corpse. He uses this to try and manipulate sympathy out of Miles Edgeworth, and when that inevitably fails, he shows his true colors as an [[LackOfEmpathy aloof]], [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] [[DirtyCoward coward]] who [[SmugSnake overestimates his own intelligence]] and [[JerkAss treats everyone around him like dirt]] while boasting that he ''was'' the culprit of the incident, but nobody can do anything about it now that the statute of limitations has (supposedly) expired. [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty Giving him his comeuppance 18 years later is an immensely satisfying moment.]]
** [[FrenchJerk Isaku Hyoudou/Isaac Dover (real name Paul Holic/Pierre Hoquet)]], the [[AssholeVictim victim]] of The Inherited Turnabout, is a {{greed}}y sculptor who charges exorbitant sums for his work, and seeks to win Jeff Master's contest in order to sell the Angel Recipe. To that end, he enlists the help of the aforementioned Gustavia, since Gustavia can't sculpt his desserts and Dover can't cook well enough, only to betray Gustavia and have his son kidnap Dover's son after reaching the finals. He then tried to {{blackmail}} Gustavia and then assaulted him before being murdered. While Gustavia is just as despicable as Dover is, no one mourns Dover's death- only the fact that an innocent man spent almost two decades in prison because of the actions of Dover and his killer.
** [[AmoralAttorney Bansai Ichiyanagi/Blaise Debeste]], also known as The Conductor, is [[BigBadEnsemble one of the two main antagonists of the game]]. The former Chief Prosecutor and head of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee, he is an AmoralAttorney who has all the detestable qualities of Manfred von Karma with none of his class nor half his intelligence. He openly admits that [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem he can create his own "truths" in his position]], is an AbusiveParent to his son Sebastian, putting him through an emotional train wreck just to get him out of the courtroom, is implied to have made his own wife and many others "[[DeadlyEuphemism disappear]]", and is the GreaterScopeVillain to much of the series's events, being the one who gave Manfred von Karma his only ever penalty, only doing so because he forged the evidence himself and had to divert the blame, leading to the DL-6 Incident. He also, as The Conductor, illegally auctions off evidence and kills someone who tried to expose him for it. Even after being exposed, he committs one last crime: ordering the kidnapping of Justine's son to acquit his co-conspirator Roland, alongside throwing away key evidence.

** [[AmoralAttorney Manfred von Karma]], the prosecutor in the fourth case, is an extreme [[ThePerfectionist perfectionist]] who has sent thousands of people, criminals or [[MiscarriageOfJustice otherwise]], to prison or the gallows in service of his perfect winning record. He is irritatingly smug, [[{{Jerkass}} very unprofessional]], and [[TheDreaded terrifying enough to frighten the judge into doing whatever he says]]. The worst part is that he can ''back up'' his ego. Unlike every other prosecutor in the series, Von Karma is an ''[[ThatOneBoss absolutely relentless adversary]]'' who butts in to interrupt you, shut you up, and otherwise bully you no matter what you try to do to tackle his witnesses' testimonies. And then it's revealed that he masterminded the entire case to condemn the defendant for the sake of [[DisproportionateRetribution the pettiest reason possible]]: defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth got von Karma a single penalty fifteen years ago, and von Karma went so insane with fury -- even though he ''still won the case'' -- that he decided it was appropriate to shoot Edgeworth and raise his son Miles to become an arrogant prosecutor who only cares about victory... while keeping his options open to frame Miles for murder, which he ultimately does. Phoenix Wright sums it up best in his InnerMonologue.

** [[NiceCharacterMeanActor Juan Corrida]] is a TV star and Matt Engarde's [[AssholeVictim victim]]. He dumps his girlfriend Celeste Inpax when Matt Engarde reveals he used to date her, doing this only because he was too prideful to let Engarde get a point over him. He then hides away Inpax's suicide note to use as blackmail against Engarde, doing so purely for self-gain rather than out of justice for Inpax. Even if he didn't deserve to be murdered, it's hard to feel sorry for him.

* ''VisualNovel/GyakutenKenji2'':
** The body double of Zheng Fa [[PresidentEvil president Teikun O/Di-Jun Huang]] is nothing but a mere shadow of the man he impersonated. [[GreenEyedMonster Envious of being a mere double]], Huang's imposter collaborates with [[DirtyCop Patricia Roland]] and [[AmoralAttorney Blaise Debeste]] to KillAndReplace the real president. He quickly proves to be nowhere near as respectable as the real man, letting a smuggling ring run rampant that prints fake currency and cripples "his" country financially. Shortly afterward, he conspires with one of his bodyguards to stage a FakeAssassination attempt on his life for the sake of brownie points. When Shelly de Killer holds one of the fake president's bodyguards hostage, hoping to lure him out, he proves to be a DirtyCoward and signals the assassin that the president is a phony. Later on, after being murdered by the Mastermind, people mourn "Huang's" passing only until the truth is revealed; then [[AssholeVictim the impostor's grave is quickly spat on]].

** [[AmoralAttorney Bansai Ichiyanagi/Blaise Debeste]], also known as The Conductor, is [[BigBadEnsemble one of the two main antagonists of the game]]. The former Chief Prosecutor and head of the Prosecutorial Investigation Committee, he is an AmoralAttorney who has all the detestable qualities of Manfred von Karma with none of his class nor half his intelligence. He openly admits that [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem he can create his own "truths" in his position]], is an AbusiveParent to his son Sebastian, putting him through an emotional train wreck just to get him out of the courtroom, is implied to have made his own wife and many others "[[DeadlyEuphemism disappear]]", and is the GreaterScopeVillain to much of the series's events, being the one who gave Manfred von Karma his only ever penalty, only doing so because he forged the evidence himself and had to divert the blame, leading to the DL-6 Incident. He also, as The Conductor, illegally auctions off evidence and kills someone who tried to expose him for it. By contrast, the FinalBoss Sōta Sarushiro/Simon Keyes is [[AntiVillain significantly more sympathetic]], and Blaise's actions were the major reason for Simon's turn to evil.

** [[AmoralAttorney Manfred von Karma]], the prosecutor in the fourth case, is an extreme [[ThePerfectionist perfectionist]] who has sent thousands of people, criminals or [[MiscarriageOfJustice otherwise]], to prison or the gallows in service of his perfect winning record. He is [[SmugSnake irritatingly smug]], [[{{Jerkass}} very unprofessional]], and [[TheDreaded terrifying enough to frighten the judge into doing whatever he says]]. The worst part is that he can ''back up'' his ego. Unlike every other prosecutor in the series, Von Karma is an ''[[ThatOneBoss absolutely relentless adversary]]'' who butts in to interrupt you, shut you up, and otherwise bully you no matter what you try to do to tackle his witnesses' testimonies. And then it's revealed that he masterminded the entire case to condemn the defendant for the sake of [[DisproportionateRetribution the pettiest reason possible]]: defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth got von Karma a single penalty fifteen years ago, and von Karma went so insane with fury -- even though he ''still won the case'' -- that he decided it was appropriate to shoot Edgeworth and raise his son Miles to become an arrogant prosecutor who only cares about victory... while keeping his options open to frame Miles for murder, which he ultimately does. Phoenix Wright sums it up best in his InnerMonologue.

** [[NiceCharacterMeanActor Juan Corrida]] is a TV star and Matt Engarde's [[AssholeVictim victim]]. He dumps his girlfriend Celeste Inpax when Matt Engarde reveals he used to date her, doing this only because he was too prideful to let Engarde get a point over him. He then hides away Inpax's suicide note to use as blackmail against Engarde, doing so purely for self gain rather than out of justice for Inpax. Even if he didn't deserve to be murdered, it's hard to feel sorry for him.

[[folder:Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice]]
* ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'': [[DirtyCoward Daryan Crescend]], a detective and the third culprit, [[DirtyCop turns corrupt]] out of {{greed}} (despite already having two well-paying jobs as detective and guitarist in the Gavinners), hoping to smuggle a cocoon out of Borginia to sell to the Chief Justice to cure his son's disease, wanting a client who will pay well and not betray him. He enlists the help of Machi Tobaye, a young boy, but after being forced to kill Interpol agent Romein [=LeTouse=] throws Machi under the bus and allow him to take the fall for Daryan's crimes, manipulating the crime scene to place suspicion on Machi. Daryan is abrasive and verbally abusive to others, especially when Lamiroir accuses him of the crime, resulting in him [[WouldHitAGirl assaulting and trying to kill her]] to [[HeKnowsTooMuch keep her silent]]. When there appears to be insufficient evidence to convict him, Daryan mocks his accusers, showing him to be an unpleasant human being with no redeeming qualities.

** [[EvilTeacher Aristotle Means]], the culprit of the third case, is a corrupt teacher of Themis Legal Academy. Believing that "the ends justifies the means" in the Dark Age of the Law, he corrupts his students into sharing his philosophy. He then kills a fellow professor, Constance Courte, who called him out for taking bribes from a student. While he offers to defend Juniper Woods, the student accused of the murder he committed, he [[DirtyCoward throws that facade out the window]] and tries to incriminate her instead when he's cornered, using his testimony to belittle and gaslight Athena purely out of spite. He's [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist loyal only to himself and cares far more about spouting his twisted ideology to anyone within an earshot than actually helping others]], and his breakdown consists of him trying to weasel his way out of his well-earned fate. A crooked man who will do anything to get his way in court, Means is referred to by Athena as the embodiment of the Dark Age of the Law.

** [[ItsAllAboutMe Paul Atishon-Wimperson]] is the culprit of the first half of Case 5, and a [[SleazyPolitician slimy, egotistical]] CorruptPolitician. Visiting Kurain Village to get everyone there to elect him as the village assemblyman, he becomes a pain in the neck for the villagers, obnoxiously shouting meaningless {{catchphrase}}s and promises via his megaphone, and is rude and condescending to Apollo and his friends. He is also [[TheQuisling a proud supporter]] of the [[PoliceState Khura'inese regime]] who is willing to kill Professor Archie Buff to give the Founder's Orb he was studying to Justice Minister Inga. When Dhurke Sahdmadhi finds the orb instead, Paul goes as far as blackmailing Phoenix into defending him in a civil trial by having his men kidnap Maya. Within the trial, he evades questions, talks down to people, and threatens Phoenix with Maya's life.

** [[SmugSnake Jacques Portsman]] is a [[AmoralAttorney corrupt prosecutor]] who works with the smuggling ring, forging evidence to keep his cohorts out of jail. While he pretends to be a friendly man with a love for sports, in reality, he's a cold-blooded criminal who shows no hesitation in murdering his "friend" Buddy Faith when the detective catches him stealing evidence. Since he doesn't even bother to call Buddy by his name, Miles suggests that he viewed him as more of a pet than a partner. He tries to frame Gumshoe, and later Maggey Byrde, for his crime. To make him even more hateable, he's got an annoying habit of loudly taking off his jacket and putting it back on. He's also a smug bully who isn't nearly as competent as he sees himself, making it very satisfying when he ends up eating his medal after being exposed.

** [[DirtyCoward Lance Amano]], while not being particularly evil by Ace Attorney standards, is a character that's obviously not meant to be liked. He masterminds a fake kidnapping to extort money out of his own father to pay off a LoanShark, using his own girlfriend and her father as his accomplices. Being [[StupidEvil dumb enough]] to try and blackmail Oliver Deacon, his girlfriend's PapaWolf father, he instigates a confrontation, forcing him to kill Deacon. When he is "rescued," he talks down to Miles Edgeworth and plays the victim when things stop going his way, refusing to take any accountability for his actions. Trying to use his father's wealth and status to escape responsibility, Miles Edgeworth reducing him to a [[VillainousBreakdown sniveling wreck]] is downright cathartic.
** [[TheDragon Manny Coachen]] is easily one of the most loathsome [[AssholeVictim victims]] in the series. While his actions aren't seen, he is one of the driving forces behind the smuggling ring. Ordering the deaths of innocents as well as actively committing treason by attempting to install Colias Palaeno as a puppet leader, he helps destabilize several countries purely for personal gain. When he tries to take the smuggling ring for himself, he's [[KarmicDeath murdered by his own boss]] for his efforts. A cowardly and ruthless opportunist, Coachen is an odious figure.
** [[AssInAmbassador Ambassador Quercus Alba]] is the leader of the Cohdopian smuggling ring. Though once a beloved war hero, Alba [[FromCamouflageToCriminal became a crime lord]] to enrich himself, masterminding every murder in the game to [[HeKnowsTooMuch keep his secrets]]. When Alba is revealed to be the head of the smuggling ring, he reveals himself to be a smug, preening bastard who only cares about himself. Most of his testimony consists of him gloating about his connections and power, talking down to Edgeworth, and making things as difficult for everyone around him as possible. And thanks to the [[MarathonBoss amount of time needed]] to take him down, that of course means he'll have plenty of time to flaunt all those lovely and endearing character traits and make you ponder how nice it would be to punch him in the face.

** The body double of Zheng Fa [[PresidentEvil president Teikun O/Di-Jun Huang]] is nothing but a mere shadow of the man he impersonated. [[GreenEyedMonster Envious of being a mere double]], Huang's imposter collaborates with [[DirtyCop Patricia Roland]] and [[AmoralAttorney Blaise Debeste]] to KillAndReplace the real president. He quickly proves to be nowhere near as respectable as the real man, letting a smuggling ring run rampant that prints fake currency and cripples "his" country financially. Shortly afterwards, he conspires with one of his bodyguards to get another guard killed and stages a FakeAssassination attempt on his life for the sake of brownie points. When Shelly de Killer holds one of the fake president's bodyguards hostage, hoping to lure him out, he proves to be a DirtyCoward and signals the assassin that the president is a phony. Later on, after being murdered by the Mastermind, people mourn "Huang's" passing only until the truth is revealed; then [[AssholeVictim the impostor's grave is quickly spat on]].

** [[LethalChef Yutaka Kazami/Dane Gustavia]] is the culprit of The Inherited Turnabout and another despicable human being. [[AbusiveParent Using his son purely as a taste-tester]], his response to his son being kidnapped was anger at [[ItsAllAboutMe no longer having an advantage in a confectionary competition he was participating in.]] While his murder of Isaac Dover was moderately sympathetic (Dover did kidnap his son and threaten to discredit Gustavia by exposing [[DeafComposer his taste disorder]]), instead of taking responsibility, he abandoned Simon Keyes, his own child (contributing to the boy's turn to evil) and allowed an innocent man to take the blame instead. Eighteen years later, he is almost killed by Katherine Hall in a trap she set up for the true culprit at the victim's corpse. He uses this to try and manipulate sympathy out of Miles Edgeworth, and when that inevitably fails, he shows his true colors as an [[LackOfEmpathy aloof]], [[ItsAllAboutMe selfish]] [[DirtyCoward coward]] who [[SmugSnake overestimates his own intelligence]] and [[JerkAss treats everyone around him like dirt]] while boasting that he ''was'' the culprit of the incident, but nobody can do anything about it now that the statute of limitations has (supposedly) expired. [[KarmaHoudiniWarranty Giving him his comeuppance 18 years later is an immensely satisfying moment.]]

** [[AmoralAttorney Manfred von Karma]], the prosecutor in the fourth case, is an extreme [[ThePerfectionist perfectionist]] who has sent thousands of people, criminals or [[MiscarriageOfJustice otherwise]], to prison or the gallows in service of his perfect winning record. He is [[SmugSnake irritatingly smug]], [[{{Jerkass}} very unprofessional]], and [[TheDreaded terrifying enough to frighten the judge into doing whatever he says]]. The worst part is that he can ''back up'' his ego. Unlike every other prosecutor in the series, Von Karma is an ''[[ThatOneBoss absolutely relentless adversary]]'' who butts in to interrupt you, shut you up, and otherwise bully you no matter what you try to do to tackle his witnesses' testimonies. And then it's revealed that he masterminded the entire case to condemn the defendant for the sake of [[DisproportionateRetribution the pettiest reason possible]]: defense attorney Gregory Edgeworth got von Karma a single penalty fifteen years ago, and von Karma went so insane with fury -- even though he ''still won the case'' -- that he decided it was appropriate to shoot Edgeworth, raise his son Miles to become an arrogant prosecutor who only cares about victory, and then have Miles framed for another murder that he arranged. Phoenix Wright sums it up best in his InnerMonologue.

** [[TheDragon Manny Coachen]] is easily one of the most loathsome [[AssholeVictim victims]] in the series. While his actions aren't seen, he is one of the driving forces behind the smuggling ring. Ordering the deaths of innocents as well as actively committing treason by attempting to install Colais Palaeno as a puppet leader, he helps destabilize several countries purely for personal gain. When he tries to take the smuggling ring for himself, he's [[KarmicDeath murdered by his own boss]] for his efforts. A cowardly and ruthless opportunist, Coachen is an odious figure.

** [[BitchInSheepsClothing Matt Engarde]] is the true culprit of the final case. A TV star, Matt Engarde had a [[TheRival rivalry]] with fellow star Juan Corrida. When his ex-girlfriend Celeste, whom he dumped for no particular reason, got together with Juan, he tells Juan of their past relationship to get him to break up with her, driving her to suicide. When Juan intends to disguise himself as Matt and reveal the truth to the press, Matt hires [[ProfessionalKiller Shelly De Killer]] to murder him. Matt then forces Phoenix to defend him in court by having Shelly kidnap Maya in exchange for his acquittal, and when Phoenix realizes the truth, Matt openly mocks Phoenix about having to defend someone who is clearly guilty of murder. Matt makes sure to also videotape the murder, planning to blackmail Shelly later down the road in case he turns on him, instigating the assassin's wrath when Phoenix reveals this. Once his smug demeanor is wiped away and he is faced with a [[MortonsFork "choice" between pleading guilty or pleading not guilty but at the mercy of the assassin he double-crossed]], he [[VillainousBreakdown breaks down]] and pleads guilty to save himself from the crosshairs of De Killer.

** [[AssInAmbassador Ambassador Quercus Alba]] is the leader of the Cohdopian smuggling ring. Though once a beloved war hero, Alba [[FromCamouflageToCriminal became a crime lord]] to enrich himself, masterminding every murder in the game to [[HeKnowsTooMuch keep his secrets]]. When Alba is revealed to be the head of the smuggling ring, he reveals himself to be a smug, preening bastard who only cares about himself. Most of his testimony consists of him gloating about his connections and power, talking down to Edgeworth, and making things as difficult for everyone around him as possible. And thanks to the amount of time needed to take him down, that of course means he'll have plenty of time to flaunt all those lovely and endearing character traits and make you ponder how nice it would be to punch him in the face.